Computers and the internet define our modern society, yet the only groups that seem to be actively trying to subvert their power are criminals that’re only interested in stealing money for themselves or libertarian types that preach an unattainable cyber utopia ala John Perry Barlow and his clownish manifesto, “the declaration of the independence of cyberspace”. The closest hacktivists have ever gotten to challenging real power was when they targeted the police and began doxing them during the height of the occupy movement. Since then, virtually all hacktivist activity targeted against states appears to have been directed exclusively against the geopolitical targets of US imperialism, such as Anonymous, which made a declaration of war against Russia at the onset of its current conflict with Ukraine. It appears that these groups, who once openly attempted to challenge authorities in the west, have now instead been subsumed by them and dance to their tune.
So far, there has been no publicly visible attempt by communists to subvert these systems and put them to use in the service of class struggle. Why is it that we see ransomware being used to enrich cybercriminals when it would be better used to expropriate wealth for the revolutionary cause? Why do self-styled anti establishment hackers lend their skills to attack people thousands of miles away when their actual enemies are much closer to home? Why is there such an abundance of white hat stooges on the one hand that prop up corporate and state control of the internet, and black hat parasites on the other that view hacking simply as a tool for self-enrichment at other peoples’ expense, while red hat proletarian heroes seeking to harness the internet for workers’ power are nowhere to be seen?
Consider its a way to end up like Julian Assange. I have some ideas of actions and projects to take but I am not going to share them all rn.
If anyone is going to travel this road in real life they will have to think it through all the way to the impending criminal charges and manhunt. I wonder how difficult it’d be to get political asylum in the DPRK
They’d have to link up with comrades and go international, basing themselves somewhere that doesn’t extradite to the west such as China, Ecuador or Cuba. Just as a 21st century communist international would obviously base its websites and mass media in servers beyond the reach of western authorities, its hacker revolutionaries would need to base themselves out of these places too. The more stringently they refuse extradition, the better. At a glance, I suppose the gold standard for that would be China.
From what I read, DPRK will officially grant anyone asylum from capitalist countries. But I’ve read that unofficially through the pipeline, they are likely to reject, as to not cause diplomatic incidents.
The lesson of Assange is to not base yourself in the west if you want to carry out this kind of work. From the moment you make up your mind to carry out this work you need to cover yourself by relocating to somewhere that doesn’t extradite to the US or Europe before doing anything they’d lock you up for.
You certainly need to be a lot more careful when you are on their territory.
Consider you may want access to the US mainland to do some insurgent work.
With a proper division of labour that won’t be necessary. The principle role of hacker revolutionaries is to provide a powerful capability to their revolutionary organisation; the means to engage in remote electronic warfare as a form of class struggle. On the ground organisation can be handled by agitators specifically sanctioned and trained for that purpose. There’s no need to risk the neck of a valuable specialist like a hacker that can contribute just as much from their cosy home in Cuba as they can looking over their shoulder in hostile territory.
Keep me posted. I’m not an expert but I have ideas.